Door-basket structure of refrigerator

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a door-basket structure adapted to be inserted in a refrigerator, including a basket body installed slidably in a fore and aft direction at a rear surface of a door and having an upper surface in the form of a rack horizontally extended, the basket body adapted to store foodstuffs therein, a basket cover pivotably installed at an upper portion of the basket body so as to selectively open and close the interior of the basket body, the basket cover having a lower surface in the form of a pinion. The rack is adapted to interlock continuously with the pinion at every moment to allow the basket cover to be opened and closed in cooperation with movement of the basket body.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/204,173,filed on Aug. 16, 2005, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 toKorean Application No. 10-2004-0075782 filed in the Republic of Korea onSep. 22, 2004, the entire contents of which are incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly,to a door-basket structure of a refrigerator, which is installed on arear surface of a refrigerator door and used as a space for storingfoodstuffs.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Generally, a refrigerator comprises a freezing chamber for storing anicemaker container and frozen foodstuffs at a predetermined temperature,and a refrigerating chamber for accommodating objects to berefrigerated. The refrigerator includes therein a refrigeration cycleunit operated according to a refrigeration cycle of compression,condensation, expansion and evaporation, so that the refrigerator cankeep its interiors to be in a freezing state and a refrigerating statesince heat is absorbed by an evaporator installed in a circulationcircuit of the refrigeration cycle unit.

A conventional refrigerator generally has a refrigerating chamber, and afreezing chamber installed above the refrigerating chamber. However,among large-sized refrigerators with large capacity, a side-by-side typerefrigerator of which a refrigerating chamber and a freezing chamber areinstalled at the right and left sides to store a lot of foodstuffs hasbeen recently popularized.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventionalside-by-side type refrigerator.

As shown in the figure, the conventional refrigerator comprises a mainbody 10 in which a storage space 12 for accommodating and storingfoodstuffs is formed. The storage space 12 generally consists of afreezing chamber for storing foodstuffs in a frozen state and arefrigerating chamber for storing foodstuffs in a refrigerated state.That is, the interior of the main body 10 is divided into right and leftsides by a partition wall 14 vertically formed within the main body 10,so that the refrigerating chamber and the freezing chamber are defined,respectively.

Doors 16 are provided at a front face of the storage space 12 so as toselectively open and close the respective interiors of the storage space12. A display 18 is formed on a front surface of one of the doors 16.The display 18 is a portion that displays conditions of the storagespace 12 or allows a user to control the conditions of the storage space12.

Door-baskets 20 for accommodating foodstuffs are provided on rearsurfaces of the doors 16. The plurality of door-baskets 20 are providedto be vertically spaced apart by predetermined distances from oneanother, and foodstuffs are put and stored in the door-baskets 20. Inthe meantime, among the door-baskets 20, a door-basket 20′ formed at theuppermost end of the door 16 is further provided with a basket cover20′a.

However, the prior art has the following problems. That is, since thedoor-basket 20′ formed at the uppermost end of the door 16 is providedwith the basket cover 20′a, the basket cover 20′a should be opened toallow a user to take out foodstuffs accommodated in the door-basket 20′or to put foodstuffs therein.

However, since the basket cover 20′a is installed at the uppermost endof the door 16, it is difficult for a user to open such a basket cover20′a. Furthermore, it is more difficult for a short user to do so.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is conceived to solve theaforementioned problems in the prior art. An object of the presentinvention is to provide a door-basket structure of a refrigerator,wherein a basket cover is automatically opened when a basket body isdrawn out.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving theobject, there is provided a door-basket structure of a refrigerator,comprising: a basket body that is installed slidably in a fore and aftdirection at a rear surface of a door and accommodates and storesfoodstuffs therein; a basket cover pivotably installed at an upperportion of the basket body so as to selectively open and close theinterior of the basket body; and an interlocking means for allowing thebasket cover to be opened and closed in cooperation with the basketbody.

The interlocking means may comprise a rack portion and a pinion portionformed on the basket body and the basket cover to have complementaryshapes, wherein the rack portion and the pinion portion are engaged witheach other.

The rack portion may be formed integrally with an upper end portion ofthe basket body, and the pinion portion may be formed integrally with aside surface of the basket cover.

The interlocking means may forcibly open the basket cover when thebasket body is drawn out forward (rearward of the door).

According to the present invention thus constructed, there is anadvantage in that it is easy to take out foodstuffs from the door-basketor to accommodate foodstuffs therein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following description of apreferred embodiment given in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional side-by-side typerefrigerator;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an inner configuration of arefrigerator in which a door-basket structure according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention is employed;

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a configuration of the door-basketstructure of a refrigerator according to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state where a basket cover of thedoor-basket structure according to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is opened.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, a door-basket structure of a refrigerator according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 shows the interior of a refrigerator in which the door-basketstructure of a refrigerator according to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention is employed; and FIGS. 3 and 4 show a side face of thedoor-basket structure of a refrigerator according to the presentinvention.

Referring to the figures, a barrier 42 partitions a storage space of arefrigerator body 40 into a freezing chamber and a refrigerating chamberin a side-by-side relationship. In general, the freezing chamber 43 ispositioned on the left side and the refrigerating chamber 45 ispositioned on the right side. In addition to a case where the freezingand refrigerating chambers 43 and 45 are positioned side by side on theleft and right sides, respectively, as shown in the figure, the freezingand refrigerating chambers 43 and 45 may be provided on upper and lowersides.

In the meantime, an additional vegetable chamber 47 is provided at alower portion of the refrigerating chamber 45, and shelves 48 on whichstored goods are seated are installed to the respective freezing andrefrigerating chambers 43 and 45. The plurality of shelves 48 areinstalled to be spaced apart by predetermined distances from one anotheraccording to the size of the storage space, thereby partitioning thestorage space to store a lot of goods therein.

There are provided doors 50 for covering and selectively opening andclosing the interior of the refrigerator, i.e., the storage space. Thedoors 50 of the refrigerator are installed at a front face of therefrigerator body 40. The doors 50 are divided into a freezing chamberdoor 50′ for opening and closing the freezing chamber 43, and arefrigerating chamber door 50″ for opening and closing the refrigeratingchamber 45.

Door-baskets 52 for storing goods therein are provided on rear surfacesof the doors 50. That is, the plurality of door-baskets 52 foraccommodating foodstuffs therein are provided to be vertically spacedapart by predetermined distances from one another on the rear surfacesof the doors 50.

The refrigerating chamber door 50″ is equipped with a home-bar 54 thatcan easily accommodate goods to be stored therein. The home-bar 54 isgenerally provided at an upper portion of the refrigerator so that auser can take out the goods stored therein without bending the user'sbody.

In the meantime, a door-basket 52′ positioned at the uppermost end ofthe refrigerating chamber door 50″ comprises a basket body 60 and abasket cover 62, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The basket cover 62 isopened and closed in cooperation with the basket body 60 through aninterlocking means 70. That is, the basket cover 62 is opened when thebasket body 60 is drawn out forward (i.e., rearward of the door).

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the basket body 60 isformed in a hexahedral shape with an open top face, and slidablyinstalled at the rear surface of the refrigerating chamber door 50″.That is, guide protrusions 64 are formed on side surfaces of the basketbody 60, and sliding guides 66 in which the guide protrusions 64 areaccommodated are formed in the rear surface of the refrigerating chamberdoor 50″. Foodstuffs F such as milk products are received and stored inthe basket body 60.

A rack portion 72 is formed at an upper end of each of side surfaces ofthe basket body 60. In general, a rack is a straight bar on which teethare formed. The rack is engaged with a pinion that is a kind ofsmall-sized gear, thereby transmitting a rotational motion to a linearmotion.

It is preferred that the rack portion 72 be formed only at the upper endof the basket body 60. The rack portion 72 constitutes the interlockingmeans 70 for pivoting the basket cover 62, together with a pinionportion 74 to be described below.

The basket cover 62 is installed above the basket body 60 and pivots oncover hinges h formed at upper end portions of the basket cover 62 andthen selectively opens and closes the interior of the basket body 60.The basket cover 62 is preferably formed of a transparent material so asto easily recognize foodstuffs in the basket body 60. The pinion portion74 is formed integrally with each of side surfaces of the basket cover62.

The pinion portion 74 comprises a gear with teeth corresponding to thoseof the rack portion 72 of the basket body 60 to be engaged therewith andis formed at a rear end portion of the bottom of the side surface of thebasket cover 62. The pinion portion 74 is formed in an arc shape at therear end portion of the basket cover 62 and engaged with the rackportion 72 of the basket body 60.

The pinion portion 74 serves to convert a linear motion of the rackportion 72 into a rotational motion of the pinion portion 74. Therefore,when the basket body 60 is caused to linearly move in a fore and aftdirection, the basket cover 62 rotates and thus opens and closes theinterior of the basket body 60.

Next, the operation of the aforementioned door-basket structure of arefrigerator will be described.

In the refrigerator constructed as above, foodstuffs are accommodatedand stored in the freezing and refrigerating chambers 43 and 45, and auser puts in or takes out foodstuffs after opening the door 50.

In the meantime, the door-baskets 52 are further provided on the rearsurfaces of the doors 50, so that the user can easily accommodatefoodstuffs therein. Particularly, the door-basket 52′ at the uppermostend of the refrigerating chamber door 50″ is provided with the basketcover 62. The basket cover 62 is opened through an operation for drawingthe basket body 60 forward (i.e., rearward of the door).

More specifically, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, when the user holds anddraws a front end portion of the basket body 60 with his/her hand in astate where the basket body 60 has been mounted on the rear surface ofthe refrigerating chamber door 50″ as shown in FIG. 3, the basket body60 is drawn out forward (i.e., rearward of the door, or to the rightside in FIGS. 3 and 4). At this time, the guide protrusions 64 of thebasket body 60 are guided in the sliding guides 66 and then the basketbody 60 moves to the right side (see FIG. 4).

When the basket body 60 is drawn out forward, the pinion portion 74rotates since the rack portion 72 and the pinion portion 74 are engagedwith each other. Since the pinion portion 74 and the basket cover 62 areformed integrally with each other, the rotation of the pinion portion 74causes the basket cover 62 to pivot on the cover hinges h(counterclockwise in FIGS. 3 and 4).

After the basket body 60 is completely drawn out, the basket cover 62 isalso fully opened. This state is shown in FIG. 4. If the basket cover 62is opened as above, the user can take out the foodstuffs F stored in thebasket body 60 or accommodate the foodstuffs F therein.

On the other hand, when the basket body 60 is pushed rearward (i.e., tothe left side in FIGS. 3 and 4), the guide protrusions 64 moves to theleft side while being guided within the sliding guides 66 (see FIG. 3).Thus, the basket body 60 slides into the refrigerating chamber door 50″.

At this time, the pinion portion 74 and the basket cover 62 rotateclockwise (in FIGS. 3 and 4). Therefore, when the basket body 60 fullyenters the refrigerating chamber door 50″, the basket cover 62 iscompletely closed as shown in FIG. 3. As described above, in the presentinvention, the basket cover 62 is opened and closed in cooperation withthe movement of the basket body 60.

According to the door-basket structure of a refrigerator of the presentinvention described above, there is provided the interlocking meanscomprising the pinion and rack portions, so that the basket cover pivotsin cooperation with the movement of the basket body. Therefore, sincethe movement of the basket body causes the basket cover to beautomatically opened and closed, there is an advantage in that it iseasy to accommodate and take out foodstuffs.

That is, since the basket cover of the door-basket provided at arelatively high position is automatically opened and closed without auser's additional opening or closing operation, there is an advantage inthat convenience in the use of a refrigerator is improved.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodimentdescribed and illustrated above. It will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that various modifications and changes can be made theretowithin the scope of the present invention.

For example, although the interlocking means 70 for pivoting the basketcover 62 has been illustrated by way of example as comprising the rackand pinion portions 72 and 74 in the embodiment, the interlocking means70 may comprise other elements rather than the rack and pinion portions72 and 74.

1. A refrigerator, comprising: a main body providing a coolingcompartment; a door for opening and closing the cooling compartment; anda door basket located on the door and adapted to store foodstuffstherein, the door basket including: a basket body slidable in a fore andaft direction, the basket body having a bottom wall and a pair ofupwardly extending sidewalls, each upwardly extending sidewall includingan upper edge having a rack extending therealong, the bottom wallincluding a finger-receiving recess on a lower side thereof forreceiving a user's fingers for pulling the basket body outwardly; and abasket cover located at an upper portion of the basket body andpivotably installed so as to selectively open and close the interior ofthe basket body, the basket cover having a top wall and a pair ofdownwardly extending sidewalls, each downwardly extending sidewallincluding a lower edge having a pinion thereon, the pinion interlockingwith the rack to allow the basket cover to be opened and closed incooperation with movement of the basket body.
 2. The refrigeratoraccording to claim 1, wherein a contour of the lower edge of thedownwardly extending sidewall of the basket cover forwardly of thepinion matches a contour of the upper edge of the upwardly extendingsidewall of the basket body forwardly of the rack when the door basketis in a closed position.
 3. The refrigerator according to claim 1,wherein the rack is adapted to interlock continuously with the pinion atevery position of movement from a fully retracted position where thebasket cover is closed to a fully extended position where the basketcover is opened.
 4. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein thefinger-receiving recess includes a front wall portion, a rear wallportion, and a top wall portion interconnecting the front wall portionand the rear wall portion.
 5. The refrigerator according to claim 1,wherein each of the sidewalls of the basket body includes a guideprotrusion movable within a sliding guide provided on the door.
 6. Therefrigerator according to claim 5, wherein the guide protrusion andsliding guide are configured to limit the extent of travel of the basketbody away from the door.
 7. The refrigerator according to claim 1,wherein the basket cover is transparent.
 8. The refrigerator accordingto claim 1, wherein the cooling compartment is a refrigeratingcompartment, and the door is provided for opening and closing therefrigerating compartment.
 9. The refrigerator according to claim 1,wherein the rack is adapted to interlock continuously with the pinion atevery position of movement from a fully retracted position where thebasket cover is closed to a fully extended position where the basketcover is opened, and wherein the finger-receiving recess includes afront wall portion, a rear wall portion, and a top wall portioninterconnecting the front wall portion and the rear wall portion. 10.The refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein a contour of the loweredge of the downwardly extending sidewall of the basket cover forwardlyof the pinion matches a contour of the upper edge of the upwardlyextending sidewall of the basket body forwardly of the rack when thedoor basket is in a closed position.
 11. The refrigerator according toclaim 9, wherein each of the sidewalls of the basket body includes aguide protrusion movable within a sliding guide provided on the door,and wherein the guide protrusion and sliding guide are configured tolimit the extent of travel of the basket body away from the door. 12.The refrigerator according to claim 11, wherein a contour of the loweredge of the downwardly extending sidewall of the basket cover forwardlyof the pinion matches a contour of the upper edge of the upwardlyextending sidewall of the basket body forwardly of the rack when thedoor basket is in a closed position.
 13. The refrigerator according toclaim 12, wherein the basket cover is transparent.
 14. A refrigerator,comprising: a main body providing a cooling compartment; a door foropening and closing the cooling compartment; and a door basket locatedon the door and adapted to store foodstuffs therein, the door basketincluding: a basket body slidable in a fore and aft direction, thebasket body having a bottom wall and a pair of upwardly extendingsidewalls, each upwardly extending sidewall including an upper edgehaving a rack extending therealong; and a basket cover located at anupper portion of the basket body and pivotably installed so as toselectively open and close the interior of the basket body, the basketcover having a top wall and a pair of downwardly extending sidewalls,each downwardly extending sidewall including a lower edge having apinion thereon, the pinion interlocking with the rack to allow thebasket cover to be opened and closed in cooperation with movement of thebasket body, wherein a contour of the lower edge of the downwardlyextending sidewall of the basket cover forwardly of the pinion matches acontour of the upper edge of the upwardly extending sidewall of thebasket body forwardly of the rack when the door basket is in a closedposition.
 15. The refrigerator according to claim 14, wherein the rackis adapted to interlock continuously with the pinion at every positionof movement from a fully retracted position where the basket cover isclosed to a fully extended position where the basket cover is opened.16. The refrigerator according to claim 14, wherein each of thesidewalls of the basket body includes a guide protrusion movable withina sliding guide provided on the door.
 17. The refrigerator according toclaim 16, wherein the guide protrusion and sliding guide are configuredto limit the extent of travel of the basket body away from the door. 18.The refrigerator according to claim 14, wherein the basket cover istransparent.
 19. The refrigerator according to claim 14, wherein thecooling compartment is a refrigerating compartment, and the door isprovided for opening and closing the refrigerating compartment.
 20. Arefrigerator, comprising: a main body providing a refrigeratingcompartment; a door for opening and closing the refrigeratingcompartment; and a door basket located on the door and adapted to storefoodstuffs therein, the door basket including: a basket body slidable ina fore and aft direction, the basket body having a bottom wall and apair of upwardly extending sidewalls, each of the upwardly extendingsidewalls including a guide protrusion movable within a sliding guideprovided on the door and configured to limit the extent of travel of thebasket body away from the door, each upwardly extending sidewallincluding an upper edge having a rack extending therealong, the bottomwall including a finger-receiving recess on a lower side thereof forreceiving a user's fingers for pulling the basket body outwardly, thefinger-receiving recess including a front wall portion, a rear wallportion, and a top wall portion interconnecting the front wall portionand the rear wall portion; and a transparent basket cover located at anupper portion of the basket body and pivotably installed so as toselectively open and close the interior of the basket body, the basketcover having a top wall and a pair of downwardly extending sidewalls,each downwardly extending sidewall including a lower edge having apinion thereon, the pinion interlocking with the rack to allow thebasket cover to be opened and closed in cooperation with movement of thebasket body, wherein a contour of the lower edge of the downwardlyextending sidewall of the basket cover forwardly of the pinion matches acontour of the upper edge of the upwardly extending sidewall of thebasket body forwardly of the rack when the door basket is in a closedposition, and wherein the rack is adapted to interlock continuously withthe pinion at every position of movement from a fully retracted positionwhere the basket cover is closed to a fully extended position where thebasket cover is opened.